


Tomorrow

by haunteddollwatch



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Kid Fic, LMAO, Raven's Roost, au where julia and magnus have a kid, barry the babysitter, phandalin, the adventures of lich barry and a small child, this one's gonna get angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-06-18 12:59:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15486306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haunteddollwatch/pseuds/haunteddollwatch
Summary: Magnus clutched his daughter tightly against his chest. Roxanne was so small, barely a year old, but shaking, her eyes wide as her tiny hands balled around the fabric of her father’s shirt. It seemed her big, dark eyes held an understanding and fear that no baby should ever experience. Magnus knew this couldn’t be true. It was impossible for a mere one year old to truly comprehend anything in their surroundings, never mind a terrorist attack. He felt numb as he ran his calloused fingers through his baby’s reddish, curly hair. Soft, as it should be, but when he lifted his hand to his face, white powder stained his fingertips.Ash.





	1. Raven's Roost

**Author's Note:**

> I've always thought that Magnus would be a great dad.... so here's that plus sad.

Magnus clutched his daughter tightly against his chest. Roxanne was so small, barely a year old, but shaking, her eyes wide as her tiny hands balled around the fabric of her father’s shirt. It seemed her big, dark eyes held an understanding and fear that no baby should ever experience. Magnus knew this couldn’t be true. It was impossible for a mere one year old to truly comprehend anything in their surroundings, never mind a terrorist attack. He felt numb as he ran his calloused fingers through his baby’s reddish, curly hair. Soft, as it should be, but when he lifted his hand to his face, white powder stained his fingertips.

Ash.

There were remnants of ash in his daughter’s hair.

A choked sob exited Magnus’s mouth as he refused to close his eyes, refused to look away from the child he held in his arms. She so resembled her mother that it was hard to believe that Magnus was actually related to her. Her brown skin, her curly hair, her big, beautiful, brown eyes with the longest eyelashes he had ever seen, every expression she made.... it was beautiful. It was all Julia.

Julia. Whose family had taken him in, took care of him after he stumbled upon the town of Raven’s Roost. Who taught him how to steady his hands when crafting. Who he married under a gazebo of his own making. Who was the light of his life. The most beautiful woman he had ever met. The strongest woman he had ever met.

Just over a year ago, when pregnancy had left her bedridden and sick, she still smiled and told Magnus, “could be worse. Could be twins.”

When he held her hand as she gave birth to their daughter, an entire six weeks early, she didn’t panic. In fact, she was the one squeezing Magnus’ hand to reassure him. 

When her tiny, but miraculously healthy daughter was placed onto her chest. She named her, Roxanne, after her grandmother, then looked up at Magnus and whispered with a smile, “she’s so wrinkly.” Magnus immediately broke into heaving tears.

Gone.

After all that. 

Julia was gone.

Nobody knew how, but little Ro had survived. They think she had wandered off, as she is want to do. Julia would joke that their child was a “mini-Magnus”, as she shared his impulsive, excited spirit, toddling off on chubby legs any time an opportunity showed itself. A neighbor had told him that she had heard Julia frantically calling for the girl before the bombs went off. Another told him that he had seen a dignified looking woman carrying Ro away from the Hammer and Tongs. Magnus didn’t care how it happened. His daughter was alive. Scraped up, traumatized, motherless, but alive.

Magnus hissed in pain as he felt Roxanne tug at his beard. He gently removed her her fingers from his face, but held on, cradling her tiny baby hands in his, which were large and roughened from carpentry. She was so small, so delicate, now his alone to protect. Ro gaped up at him, watching with wide eyes as tears dropped down her father’s face. She was so precious, the only thing he had left. 

Managing to break his eyes away from his child’s face, Magnus glanced around him, at what was left of his home. 

They were sitting on the cobbled street, or what was left of it. Many of the stones had been displaced, thrown far away or into buildings. People who passed by gave the father and daughter space as they looked at them with pity.The others who surrounded them were huddled on the ground, like Magnus, or nursing wounds, or staring off into the distance blankly, or crying, or screaming in grief. They all knew Magnus. They all knew Julia. They all knew the Burnsides and the Waxmens; they were famous ever since they took down Kalen. Or so they thought. Apparently this was the result of their carelessness. Apparently Kalen had set out for revenge. 

He got his revenge.

The House was gone. Magnus knew that the only belongings he had left was what he brought to the carpentry convention and his cart. He would have to make a baby carrier for Ro, because he knew he couldn’t stay in this town anymore. He knew he would never stay dormant again. This couldn't happen again. 

A tiny, "da," from Ro brought his attention back to her. She was just starting to refer to her parents as "da" and "ma". Magnus always boasted that "da" had come first, convincing himself that it irked Julia. In the back of his mind, he always knew that she was just humoring him when she lightly punched his shoulder in response. He stared down at his daughter, smiling through the tears. The corners of her mouth twitched as if to smile, but she seemed unsure of herself, unsure of the situation at hand. Wise beyond her years, like Julia. Roxanne couldn't stay here. It was too dangerous. If Kalen ever found out about her existence... well, Magnus didn't want to think of what would happen. Even so, life in Raven's Roost would be bleak without Julia. Ro couldn't grow up in this town in Julia wasn't here. 

So with a grunt, Magnus lifted his daughter up with him as he stood up and trod out of the town square, out of Raven’s Roost, away from the life he had lead before. He knew that he wouldn’t be coming back. He knew that everything had changed. 

Magnus drove his cart away from the destroyed town as Ro chewed on a wooden duck, strapped in next to him.

He hoped for a better tomorrow.


	2. Four years later

Of the many jobs Magnus has taken, this one is by far the strangest. Maybe not the strangest, but definitely the most vague. Haul supplies to a Gundren Rockseeker and then what? 

A sudden clatter emerged from the back of the wagon and Magnus’ heart skipped a beat. He whipped around, the reigns loosening in his fist. “Wha-”

Before Magnus could say anything, the words dropped away from his mouth. He made eye contact with Taako, whose eyes were wide. The elf was rigid, his spindly arms plastered to his sides while his face conveyed an emotion that could only be disgust. His head slowly turned towards the two up front. Merle, besides Magnus, waved his hand expectantly. Where Magnus expected Taako’s normally sing-song voice, an uncharacteristically serious tone replaced it.

“Guys,” he edged towards his partners as he spoke slowly and deliberately, “don’t. Panic.”

Magnus gulped.

“Come on! Get on with it, kid. What’s goin’ on?” Merle questioned impatiently.

Taako dropped into a stage whisper, “there is a…  _ very _ small person back there.”

A pit formed in Magnus’ stomach, but before he could say anything, Merle sounded from beside him, “Well,  _ yeah _ ,” the dwarf turned back into his cantrips, “you didn’t notice?”

Magnus spluttered as he shot up onto his feet, “wha- how-”

“Guess I’ll drive the cart,” sighed Merle.

“What do  _ you  _ know, fella?” Taako was suddenly directly in front of him. The elf jabbed his finger into Magnus’ chest accusingly, “my spidey senses are telling me something’s up with  _ you _ .”

There was a pause. The two stared at each other, both unsure as to how to react. Then, a rustle from the boxes in the back and, “um. Can I, um, come out now?”

Ro didn’t wait for approval. She stepped out of the crate she was in, not bothering to dust off her pants, and stepped tentatively towards the men. Taako immediately jumped away, scrambling behind Magnus and hiding behind his body mass. The girl smirked at the elf’s sudden fear. She stuck her hand out in greeting and spoke excitedly with a slight lisp, “hello there! My name is Ro and that’s my daddy,” she pointed up at Magnus proudly, “he told me to stay back there because sometimes people don’t like it when I stick around on missions like these. But you found me so-”

Magnus grabbed her hand, stopping her, “babe. Let me handle this.” He turned around to address his adventuring partners. Merle was turned away, completely engrossed in maneuvering the cart, ignoring anything that was happening behind his back. Taako’s posture loosened. He was standing with crossed arms and an exasperated expression. 

Magnus stepped behind his daughter and tapped the top of her braided head, “this is Roxanne, she’s my daughter, and she sometimes comes along with me when I work.”

Merle didn’t say anything. Taako rolled his eyes.

There was an awkward pause. Then, Merle spoke up as the cart slowed to a stop, “is that all?”

Ro giggled. Magnus cleared his throat, “uh, yeah. I guess. Yup.”

“Good. Because we’re here.”

 

* * *

 

 

Roxanne was used to having to hide out while her daddy did his work things. She didn’t like it, but she knew she had to do it. She knew because sometimes getting caught was bad. Some people aren’t very nice, Daddy said. One time, on one of the work trips, a guy found her in the back of the caravan. She was just wanting to look at the stuff they got, because she heard a lot of clinking and chinking like lots of gold pieces in bags and she had never seen that much gold before. That wasn’t a very good idea because a man grabbed her by the cuff of her shirt and tried to throw her onto the road. Ro knew that he could do that very easily because she was a lot smaller then and the man was very big. But Daddy was bigger. They didn’t have dinner that night. 

_ This  _ time, when a funny, old dwarf found her in her crate, he smiled and made a motion like he was zippering his lips. She didn’t hear from anyone for a while, but then a very pretty elf found her. And he was  _ afraid _ of her. This was so funny. So she came out of hiding and introduced herself even though her daddy seemed pretty nervous. It turned out that this time it was okay, because Ro got to sit in the back of the cart and play pretend by herself. She imagined that she had a big axe and was chopping up funny gerblin guys, but the gerblins were just boxes and she only had a small knife. It was still fun enough. 

Then her daddy and his coworkers left for a while to do dangerous stuff. Ro got nervous then. Sometimes the idea that her daddy was doing dangerous things made her nervous. 

But it was okay! Her daddy came back and this time there was a new person with them! He told her that his name was Barry J. Bluejeans, which was  _ very _ funny because he was wearing pants like his name. The dwarf kept calling him “asshole”, so Ro decided to call him that too. Daddy scolded her for this, but she could tell that he wasn’t mad because he looked like he was about to laugh. It was very funny.

Finally, they arrived in a big, pretty town called Phandalin. When they went into an inn, Ro immediately began to jump on the bed because it was so big and so nice. This time, daddy didn’t even tell her to stop because he was looking at a weird map with the other guys. 

Then, daddy came up to her to talk. He looked very serious, so Ro got into her serious mode. Sometimes things needed to be serious. 

He knelt down, looked into her eyes and held onto her shoulders. His hands felt nice on her shoulders even though they were very rough and he was a little bit bloody from his work. He told her, “Ro. I need you to stay here in this inn with Barry, okay?”

She nodded quickly. 

He continued, smiling slightly, “I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry. If you’re hungry, there’s a bar down in the lobby, but you can only go if you’re very careful, okay?”

Ro was confused. Where was he going? She thought he was done with his mission. 

Daddy must have seen her disappointment, because his thick brows furrowed in sympathy, “hey,” he put his hand on her cheek, “I’ll be back.”

Sighing, Ro shook her head. She understood, but she was still sad. 

Then, her daddy put his serious face back on. He stuck his finger out like he was saying something very important, “remember what I always say when you have to be alone for a little bit?”

Yes. Ro remembered. She nodded.

“What do you do if you feel that you’re in any danger at all? What to you do if you think someone is trying to hurt you?” Daddy asked.

“Kick ‘em in the shins!”

“Or…?”

“In the balls.”

“Or?”

Ro thought for a moment, then, “run away.”

Her daddy looked pleased, “yes honey. Always run away if you think you’re in any danger. Run as far away as you can, and I will find you.” 

Before he got back up, her daddy gave her a scratchy kiss on the forehead, and Ro gave him a big hug. He was soft. This was her favorite kind of hug. 

He then got up and followed Merle and Taako out the door. 

Ro hoped her daddy would be back very very soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will Ro do while her daddy is out? 
> 
> We'll see i guess...
> 
> my tumblr is amethyst-grape!


	3. Phandalin: Roxanne

Being alone was boring. The man in jeans, Barry, was asleep with his face smooshed into the very squishy pillow, so he couldn’t play with Ro. On the bright side, Barry was a funny sleeper; his rump stuck up under the blankets and he didn’t even bother to remove his glasses, so they were crooked on his face. He drooled too. But this wasn’t the most fun to watch, especially for Ro, who was little and wanted to play… better games. 

She closed her eyes and took a big, deep breath. This was something she did when she was thinking. Sometimes closing your eyes and blacking out the world made things a lot easier to think about, but Daddy told her not to do it when she was walking because she could bump into things. He said she could hurt herself. Ro didn’t listen to him at first, but then exactly what her daddy said would happen happened. It was a long time ago. Ro wasn’t very good at knowing time and knowing how long ago things happened, but it was in the winter. It was a bad winter. They had those sometimes. Bad times. When Daddy didn’t get as many jobs, they had to eat less and sleep in uncomfortable places. Also it was cold. Ro didn’t like it when it was cold. 

The last winter, it was so cold that Ro was shivering all the time. Luckily, her daddy bought her a big furry coat which she would wear all the time. One day, Ro woke up in her big furry jacket, but she was still cold. She woke up and there were big droplets slaving down her forehead and her chest and all over and it was horrible. A searing pain shot through her head and punched her forehead over and over and over again. Then her legs began to ache, making it painful to move them, and she didn’t know what to do other than cry. It was hard to know what was going on because there were scary lights flashing in her eyes, but when the mattress dipped next to her, she knew her daddy was there. Her eyes opened into slits so that she could look up at him and see his curly beard, his roughened face. It was comforting. She felt a big rough hand on her forehead, and her daddy’s gruff voice, softer than usual, “shit. You’re burning up buddy.”

That day, he picked her up and carried her out of the inn they were staying at. Ro got to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head on his shoulder. He even zipped a jacket around both of them, but she was still cold. They went into a funny white building where a cleric gave her a potion, which made her feel a lot warmer, even though her body still ached. On the way back home, Ro wanted to walk. She held his hand for a bit when they were going through a crowded street, but for some reason, she didn’t really want to anymore. It was hard to think while there were so many things around her. It felt like all of her senses were clogged, overloaded with dirt and sounds and feelings. Ro didn’t like not being able to think, so she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A pang of frustration shot through her chest because it was still hard to think with so many things touching her, so she wrenched her hand out from her daddy’s big, rough one. It was still bad. Everything was overwhelming, and her thoughts felt like dreams, so she shut her eyes tighter, swiped away Daddy’s hands as he tried to grab onto her, and  _ ran _ . She didn’t get to run very far, because something very hard and very sharp slammed into her legs. It felt like fire ran up her ankle as she crashed onto the hard, cold, icy ground, and her head hit the dirt.  _ Hard. _ This was so bad because she already felt weird and cold and achy and now her ankle felt like  _ fire _ . So she  _ screamed _ . 

She was scooped up by familiar arms, and when they got back to the inn, her daddy wrapped her ankle. But he was very mad. He told her  _ never to do that again _ . So she didn’t. 

This time, when Ro closed her eyes to think, she was standing still and safe, so it was okay. 

A rumble gurgled in her tummy. Ro remembered what her daddy said about getting food downstairs, but she didn’t have any gold. She opened her eyes and glanced over at Barry. Waking him up wouldn’t be very fun; he was a stranger, which was a little bit scary. But, her daddy had left a bag on the bedside table. Tiptoeing very carefully over to the bag, she reached in and rummaged until her hand found something that felt like clinking coins. She took them out, and as quietly as possible, opened the door and scampered down the stairs, past a couple of guests who looked at her with a confused expression.

Ro found the bar easily because the lobby wasn’t very big. It was a little bit dark and everything was a reddish wood. She liked this. The stools next to the bar were a little too tall for her, so she had to climb up in order to sit on them. Luckily, the one she sat on had a squishy, red cushion on it. She slapped her arms down on the bar and looked at all the bottles up in slots on the wall in front of her. She hoped they had a drink she would like here. 

“Well hello there,” a half elf woman was standing behind the bar, cleaning a glass. She looked a little confused. Ro guessed that not many kids sat at bars here.

Ro looked at her. She was pretty, with long blonde hair and pointy-ish ears. Ro reached up to feel her hair, which was different. It was very curly, and dark red and a little bit poofy. 

The lady seemed to notice that Ro was feeling her hair because she smiled and said, “I like your braids, darling. Did your mama do that for you?”

“No,” Ro scoffed, removing her hand from her hair, “I don’t  _ have _ a mama! My daddy did my braids because he’s the best and I like it when my hair is like this.”

This seemed to be a weird thing to say because the lady’s eyebrows furrowed and she looked a little bit uncomfortable. She walked away for a little bit to talk to a man who was sitting a little ways away from her. When she came back, she was smiling again. 

Ro was curious about this lady. She was dressed in a button up top and a bowtie, which was very dapper and fancy. “Who are you?”

The lady laughed, which Ro was confused about, and answered, “oh! My name is Lara! I’m a bartender here, but I bet a smart girl like you already figured that out.”

Even though Ro had never met a bartender before and didn’t actually figure it out, she nodded. She straightened up and gestured towards herself, “ _ My _ name is Roxanne Waxmen Burnsides, you can call me whatever you like but I like Ro the best. I’m five and a half years old so yes, I am pretty smart because I’m older now. Do you have good drinks here? Or crackers? My tummy was rumbling so I came down here and now I’m sitting here and talking to you.”

The corners of Lara’s mouth twitched as though she was about to laugh, but she didn’t. Instead, she straightened her bowtie and said, “I can make you a hot chocolate if you’d like, sweetheart.”

Ro narrowed her eyes. She had had hot chocolate a few times. Her daddy would make her some when she was sick. Then she came to a conclusion, “yes, Lara. I think I would like that so much.”

“Very well! One hot chocolate coming right up!” The bartender lady walked away.

Then, somebody plopped down right next to Ro, which made her jump in her seat. She whipped her head around to see who had disturbed her, and she met the eyes of a chubby, bespectacled man, who she recognized as that Barry Bluejeans. He looked very frazzled as he scratched his messy hair. He sighed in relief as he looked away from her. His voice was scratchy, but warm and nice, “gosh… I woke up and you were gone. I was scared you had run away and your dad would…” Barry flinched.

Ro smiled, “yeah my daddy would beat you right up if you got in trouble with him,” she patted his shoulder reassuringly, “but don’t worry! He told me I could come down here so he won’t beat you.”

Lara placed a big mug of hot chocolate in front of her. Ro licked her lips and took a big sip, which was very good. It wasn’t too hot or too cold and it was  _ much _ better than the hot chocolate that her daddy would make. She hummed at the good taste. 

Barry scratched the back of his head and pushed his glasses up his nose, “well,” he sounded very awkward, “that’s good… I guess. I just… it would be  _ really _ bad if you got lost because.... I don’t know actually. You’re a good kid and I don’t know… your dad is cool too and I feel like I’ve known you for a while… I don’t know why.”

Ro tilted the mug back so she could drink faster. She gasped when she set it back down on the bar and began to trace the grooves in the wood, “that’s silly, Barry.”

The denim clad man sighed, “yeah. You’re right.”

There was a long silence where Ro drank her hot chocolate and Barry sat and stared at nothing. She wasn’t even done with the drink when a scream came from behind her. She turned around in her chair, almost falling out, to see where the loud noise came from. There was a halfling woman standing at the door with an expression of terror that Ro had never seen before, screaming something about a dwarf and fire and having to get to safety. Behind her, Ro could see a lot of movement, people frantically running around, yelling. This was scary. 

A pang flashed through Ro’s chest as the screams and weird crackling noise grew louder. Her thoughts slowed to a stop and suddenly she couldn’t move. She was staring at Barry Bluejeans with her widest eyes and she felt her entire body quiver. Something was wrong. Then, without warning, she felt someone grab her and she fell away from her seat very quickly. It was so fast that she didn’t even get to scream, then she was on the wooden floor and there were planks of wood around her; it was suddenly very hot and there was a lot of red. When her vision cleared, Ro saw that the bar she was sitting on was gone, turned into a pile of wood. The ceiling had caved in. She pried at the hands that were gripping her waist, panicking. She didn’t like how hairy and how tight they were latching onto her. 

“Hey, hey,” the person with the hands said in a shaky voice, “I got you.”

Ro kept saying “no” because she did  _ not _ like this. It was too hot and there were too many things touching her and she was so confused. The voice was scratchy and familiar but it didn’t make her feel good. Then the hands picked her up. Ro  _ hated  _ this. She  _ screamed _ and  _ kicked _ and  _ hit _ at the soft body of whoever was carrying her. He was running and bouncing her and it was very hot. There were giant licks of flame everywhere, people were screaming, it was too much. 

“PUT ME DOWN!” 

The person hesitated, then said in a frantic voice, “only if you stay with me!”

“FINE FINE FINE FINE” Ro kept yelling this word. Anything to get away.

She was dropped gently onto the crackling ground, which was a lot better. Here she could survey the town better. And it was the worst thing she had ever seen. Everything was on fire, everyone was running and screaming, everything was too loud. She could vaguely make out the shape of a person who was completely covered in fire. This was bad. Then she felt the hands reach at her arm. Ro remembered what her daddy had told her, so she turned around and kicked Barry Bluejeans right in the crotch.

He doubled down, giving Ro a window to escape.

So she ran. She ran as fast as she could. And she didn’t stop.


	4. Phandalin: Barry

In the place in which Phandalin once stood, the air was still. It was strange, eerie even, the contrast between the blue sky and what lay below it. It wasn’t snowing where the bustling, up and coming mining town, Phandalin, once was, yet white flakes drifted down from the clear sky, landing gently on a shiny black surface. For where Phandalin once was, there was a perfect circle of black glass that reflected the sun and the clouds like a dark mirror. Surrounding this sheet of glass was an untouched forest, filled with the rustles and chirps of animals, all which stopped abruptly at the point where the town once was. Reflected in the blackness, a mysterious orb floated up, up, up towards the heavens, towards one of the moons. 

Then, disturbing the stillness in the circle, a red apparitional figure lifted from the sheet. For a moment, the figure seemed to lose its composure, clutching onto its presumed head with skeletal fingers and emitting sparks of red lightning. Barry Bluejeans, in his lich form, cursed, watching his family escape from his grasp once again as they lifted up towards the moon, where he knew he could not reach them. 

He, of course, was frustrated. How could he have let this happen once again? He was so close. He had  _ seen _ them. He had met his family. Taako, Merle and Magnus had found each other. They seemed off, understandably. Lucretia had taken one hundred years from them, reverting them to only fractions of their true self. Taako seemed nervous. He stayed back and let the others do the work. It pained Barry to see how much his arcane skills had regressed. He was level one for Pan’s sake. Merle was no longer the kind soul that had fought alongside him while living on the Starblaster. He was rough, cynical… a plain old asshole. Then Magnus. He had grown so much, seeming to carry so much on his shoulders. He held so much responsibility, and he was a father. Barry had a niece, he supposed, who acted exactly how he would expect Magnus’ child to.

Magnus was a father.

Roxanne was her name. Roxanne-

“Fuck!” Barry clutched his incorporeal head.

He had let her go. She kicked him and ran and he tried to catch up to her but she had got him right in that sweet spot. “Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit-”

He hovered over the glass by a foot as he drifted frantically past every point, searching, pleading for some sign of life. No. This couldn’t be possible. He couldn’t have let this happen. He couldn’t have let this happen to his practical brother. His practical niece. 

“NO!” His form flickered with red energy, shooting out bolts of pure necromantic magic. 

When Barry had woken up from his nap, everything was fuzzy. He wasn’t exactly a light sleeper, and his brain often made excuses for himself not to get out of bed. It took a moment for Barry to push himself up, fix his glasses, to pull down his tee shirt, which had rode up his torso until it looked like a very sexy crop top. He wished he could pull off something like that, but it wasn’t his style. It took a moment for him to survey his surroundings, remember where he was, what he was doing. The room was empty except for him. This sent a feeling of unease through his stomach for some reason, and he searched his faulty memory for the reason why. 

Oh. He was supposed to be watching that guy’s kid. The big guy. Yeah. A little girl. 

The little girl. Where was she?

Flustered, Barry mumbled to himself as he slipped his shoes on and stumbled out of the room. He had  _ one job _ . One job! He got the feeling that this kid was used to being alone, being independent, but still, he was the adult here. 

A little bit of searching led him to the bar down in the lobby, where he was met by an amusing sight. The kid, Roxanne, was sitting at the bar in a dignified manner, or at least in the most dignified way a tiny child could. Getting up to the height she was at must have been a hike, for her feet swung about three feet off the worn wooden floor. Her overalls and butterfly hair bow didn’t exactly fit into the aesthetic at the bar. A few seats down a scruffy looking man called for another beer, while as Barry set himself next to the child, an amused looking bartender placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of the girl. 

Roxanne jumped in her seat as she turned to look at Barry. There was a moment where her eyes narrowed, assessing the man, and then they lit up with recognition. She didn’t do anything other than turn back to her hot chocolate, sticking a small finger into the pile of whipped cream that topped it. The half elf bartender gestured towards Barry as if to ask if he wanted anything. He gave the woman a half smile and waved her away before deciding exactly how to talk to a tiny person like Roxanne. Should he scold her for leaving the room?

Barry hesitated, then ventured, “gosh… I woke up and you were gone. I was scared you had run away and your dad would…” he sucked in a breath. Her father, Magnus, was a big guy to say the least. And a fighter. He could take Barry any day.

The girl spoke in a surprisingly nonchalant manner, “yeah my daddy would beat you right up if you got in trouble with him. But don’t worry! He told me I could come down here so he won’t beat you.” A tiny hand patted his shoulder as the girl spoke.

He was taken aback at this response. The lives of his partners were unknown to him, but Barry got the feeling that this child had some worldly experience that not many kids her age had. Hell, she had gotten some gold coins and found her way to the bar all by herself. He presumed that her father and her didn’t stay in one place for a while, and according to some conversations he overheard between Merle, Taako and Magnus, she had been hiding in a crate on the way to their destination. Barry wondered if this happened often. Magnus seemed like a good father, caring, tough enough, but it was still unusual for a child as young as Roxanne to be so independent.

Their conversation didn’t last very long before everything went to shit. 

The door to the inn was throw open quickly by a terrified Halfing, who revealed a scene of chaos behind her. A feeling of deep dread revealed itself, as if Barry had some weird intuition as to what was happening. That intuition told Barry that he was going to die. That everyone was going to die. He clutched the collar of his tee shirt nervously and glanced over at the child next to him. Roxanne was frozen, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her eyes stared at nothing. Shit. He had to get her out of here. 

A creaking noise interrupted Barry’s thoughts. He focused his eyes to the source of the sound: the ceiling which was dipping dangerously low as smoke started squeaking through its cracks. He grabbed onto Roxanne as soon as he processed what was about to happen. He threw himself and the child away from the bar just as the ceiling collapsed onto where the two of them just sat. He could vaguely hear a scream. He realized that it was probably the half elf bartender being crushed by the rubble of the inn’s ceiling and floors above. 

A ringing noise echoed in Barry’s ears. He blinked the dust out of his eyes, trying to assess his surroundings. It was hard to do this, as fire had begun to consume everything around him. The kid struggled to escape in his grasp, so he held her tighter, despite her protests, and stomped away from what was left of the inn as quick as humanly possible.

The streets were in worse shape. The blur of people running for their lives was disorienting and the fire and smoke only made it worse. Barry hissed in pain when he felt Roxanne kick him in the stomach. She was screaming, it seemed, as loud as she could. He didn’t blame her, but he couldn’t let her go. Barry didn’t hesitate to find a direction to run, and he slowed down when they reached a more calm area. The girl was shrieking, begging for him to put her down. 

Barry didn’t know what he was thinking. He obliged. Hindsight 20/20, he should  _ not _ have done that, because he didn’t get to even explain to her his plan before the kid kicked him in the crotch very very hard.  

The next thing he knew, she was gone, lost to the crowd of a panicked Phandalin.

Now Barry stood, no, floated, above the destruction of Lup’s Phoenix Fire Gauntlet. 

He had killed Magnus’ child. 

It was his fault.

He collapsed in upon himself as he attempted to compose himself. The ringing in his ears and overwhelming pain of grief was so loud that he didn’t hear the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind. 

Barry gasped. Something had run through him. The feeling of a being going through you was a very distinct feeling, and it wasn’t very comfortable. He forced himself to look up, to find the source, the thing that had managed to unhinge him even more. His eyes, or what could be perceived as eyes, met the dark eyes of a child, and then a shiny dagger in its hand. Barry lifted his arms in protest, but the kid he now recognized as Roxanne Burnsides charged at him once again, screaming, brandishing a dagger that looked much too big for her size. 

“Wait!” Barry shouted too late. The kid ran through him again. He retched. 

“It’s me!” Barry dodged another attack, “It’s Barry! Barry Bluejeans!”

Roxanne hesitated for a moment, her armed hand dipping slightly, but a scowl immediately returned to her face before she shouted, “No you’re  _ not _ !” The girl ran at him and jabbed at his red figure repeatedly, “you’re! A! Monster!”

Barry conjured a mage hand and grasped the blade of the dagger. The little girl’s eyes widened as she quickly let go of the weapon. She stumbled backwards before tumbling onto the black glass. Her arms shot up as if to protect herself and Barry could see tears forming in her eyes while her mouth opened and closed, seemingly unsure of what to do. 

The mage hand cradled the dagger and Barry moved it far from the two of them. He wondered how Roxanne had acquired such a blade. He spoke as gently as he could, “look, uh, Roxanne. It’s me. I swear. I know- I know I look different, but it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” he thought for a moment. The little girl had eased up, but tears began to fall down her face, “hey! Hey! I know your dad. Yeah, uh, his name is Magnus Burnsides, right? He’s got these big, red, bushy sideburns. You’re his kid. I know that. Me and you’re dad… well we go way back actually but… uh, I’m not gonna hurt you. I swear. I’d never do that.”

Roxanne wiped a tear from her cheek with a small fist; she slowly pushed herself up, “a-are you sure?”

Barry nodded, slowly inching closer to her. 

She wrapped her arms tightly around her torso as her face scrunched up, crying. Shit. Barry didn’t know how to deal with this, “hey… Roxanne-”

“It’s Ro.”

“Ro. Sorry,” the mage hand reached out towards her, offering a hand.

She didn’t take it, instead she let out a sob that was relatively composed for a five year old, “what- I don’t- what happened? I don’t know! I don’t know!” the kid picked at the skin of her wrist, “where’s my daddy? Barry where’s my daddy? Where is he?” Ro asked over and over, the question escalating into a shout.

Barry knelt down as well as her could. He wished that he could give this poor girl a hug. “I- oh gosh. Your dad’s okay, okay?”

The kid avoided eye contact. She began to cry harder, sobs echoing across the flat sheet of glass. 

If Barry could scowl, that’s what he would do. The relics… this is what he and his companions had done. This is what they had done to this child. 

“Ro,” Barry stated firmly. She finally lifted her big, dark eyes to meet his. Gods she had Magnus’ eyes. “I’m going to get you back to your dad. I have to figure out how, but… I’m going to do it. As soon as possible.”

A tiny hand grasped onto Barry’s mage hand, “when? Tomorrow?”

Barry sighed, closing his (mage hand) fist around Ro’s, “I- I don’t know… Yeah. Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I have two ideas as to how this story could go. I'm gonna have to figure out which one I'm gonna take. I might even choose one and then write the other later. We'll see.


	5. Phandalin: Magnus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is... emotional. Grief is a bitch. If you're not into that this is your warning.

This was one of the many (oh so many) times in Magnus’ life where he had absolutely  _ no _ idea what was going on. People were talking in what sounded like static, and now they had to find a dwarf who had somehow burst into flames when he put a glove on. An orcish woman, Killian, had joined the group. She, somehow, knew exactly what was going on, like she had seen this before. Somehow, this lady had seen someone burst into flames because of some fiery gauntlet. Somehow, she knew that everything was going to be destroyed. Magnus believed her, and he listened to her, but even as the group followed a trail of smoke into Phandalin, his mind was elsewhere. Frankly, he didn’t care about this stupid Gundren Rockseeker. He cared about his daughter, Ro, who was in the small city that was apparently about to be destroyed. 

The three, no, four of them followed the trail of fire into what looked like the local bar. 

There was Barry, looking flustered, scared. His glasses were missing and his tee shirt was untucked from his jeans as he ran towards the three of you, panting, “Oh, my god, you’re back! You guys, you gotta help me, I’ve never seen it - him like this - well, obviously, I’ve never seen him engulfed in flames and all magical and shit, but, um, if things are really bad, you guys, you gotta calm him down.”

Magnus wasn’t paying attention. His ears were clogged with the sound of his heartbeat pulsing quickly, too quick. Barry was here. Alone. The fire, the collapsing architecture, the screaming… this couldn’t happen again, not now. Not ever. How was Barry here without Ro? Where was she? 

Magnus hadn’t realized that he was pinning Barry to the wall by the collar of his shirt until the orc, Killian, pried him away. “What- what the fuck are you doing?!” she shouted at him, but Magnus couldn’t think to do anything other than blink at her. 

He glanced down at where Barry now sat. The poor guy was pushing himself onto his feet, but strangely, he didn’t look scared or angry with what Magnus just did to him. Instead he looked up at him and flinched guiltily, “shit. Magnus I-” he looked down, “your kid she- she ran away I don’t know where she went- I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have… she kicked me ya know... I don’t-”

The anger that was welling up deep in Magnus’ chest had been increasing and increasing until it had become unbearable. He could feel a flush rising in his face, and his shoulders stiffened. Suddenly, he was grabbing Barry again, talking through his teeth, “Where. Is. She.”

“I don’t-”

“WHERE DID SHE GO!?”

“Dammit Magnus!” Merle shouted, trying and failing to pry him away from the other man, “you gotta calm down!”

Magnus dropped him violently. People were talking, arguing, while the world around them burned, but he didn’t care. The current mission had changed. Who gave a shit about Gundren? The objective now was to find his daughter before it was too late. He couldn’t lose her too, after only four years, not in this way. He scowled, mumbling something about having to go, and pivoted around to leave, only to be stopped by a strong arm. 

He went to slap it away, to get rid of everything that might stop him from finding his Ro, but instead, he simply looked into Killian’s eyes. She stared back with a fiery intensity, but her voice was calm, sympathetic even, “look. I take it you’ve got someone here you care about. You want to save them, I know. But we can’t waste time here. If you want to save your kid, you have to help us  _ calm Gundren down _ .”

Magnus didn’t react, just glanced away, staring at a random point in space. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath. Ro could be anywhere. She could be trapped in one of those burning buildings. She could have been burned by a fireball. She could be pinned down by a collapsed piece of scaffolding. Of course he was worried. His five year old daughter was apparently running around a burning city with no one to protect her. There was absolutely no way for him to protect her where he was. Killian was right.

He agreed to help them. To try to calm Gundren down.

But they failed. 

And suddenly Magnus was falling, falling down the passage of a deep well. Everything moved in slow motion. He watched as fire, slowly, painfully, consumed the sky above him. He watched an arm, his arm, reach up, as if he could somehow grab the top of this well. He couldn’t. Someone was yelling. Screaming, “no”. Magnus didn’t realize that it was him until a sickly crack echoed through the chasm as his head smacked its wall.

And everything went black.

* * *

 

It was Ro’s third birthday. A special day. Magnus kept telling her this, but she didn’t exactly understand, being three. She would give a big smile, look up at Magnus with her big brown eyes and squeal, “ _ my _ birday, Da?”

Magnus would laugh, ruffle her mane of curly hair, and answer, “yeah babe!”

She was growing up so fast, so beautifully. He was worried at first about her development, for she didn’t begin to truly speak until about four months ago. Ro was born early, and Magnus had heard that sometimes premature babies have health issues later and that they develop slower. She was fine, of course, but it seemed that the latter was true. Ro was small for her age and talking came as a struggle for her. She began speaking in full sentences all of the sudden, after years of silence and the occasional, “da”. Even these full sentences were hard to understand, because some sounds were hard. Magnus, as her father, could interpret perfectly while other adults would chuckle confusedly and nod. He could see that this frustrated Ro, but she would always figure out a clever ways to communicate.

Today, they were staying in a small bed and breakfast. They had been staying here for the past week, actually, as Magnus worked as a bodyguard for guests at a festival. He was pretty sure that bringing along a small child to a bodyguarding job wasn’t exactly appreciated, so he tried to keep it on the down low. Keeping it on the down low, meaning having a little kid strapped to your back and avoiding your boss. It wasn’t always effective, but Ro was popular amongst guests. In fact, she was currently holding onto a gifted blue balloon in her small hands even though they were now in their room at the inn. She refused to let it go. Magnus supposed her short time on the road had led her to appreciate everything she was given with extreme passion.

Ro was a passionate kid. She probably got this from Magnus. Her mood was either up or down, right or left, never in the middle. So when she was happy, she was very happy. When she was angry, she was very angry. She would throw a tantrum every once in a while, but they had begun to dwindle. There was no place in Magnus and his daughter’s life for too much attention or issues with others. She seemed to be beginning to understand this, however young she was. Ro would get overwhelmed easily too. A stranger getting too close or talking to her when she wasn’t in the right mood was a cause for tears, shivering, and general anxiety. Magnus had learned how to deal with these moments. He learned how much his daughter depended on him, for when she was upset, he would take her into his arms, kiss her cheeks, and she would melt into him. It was kind of crazy how much she depended on him. It made sense; she was three and Magnus was her father. It made perfect sense. It felt good. He loved her with everything he had. 

Tonight was special. If course it was. It was Ro’s birthday. They were going to celebrate one of the two most important days in Magnus’ life. He bought a small cake, big enough for the two of them, from a local pastry shop. It was chocolate, Magnus’ favorite, with green frosting, as requested by Ro. She’d taken a liking to the color. When asked why, she’d answer  in the cutest lispy voice with a smile that stretched long across her rosy cheeks, “trees!” 

He sat Ro down at the table, next to him. Without a cushion, her head barely reached the table, and all that was visible were her big brown eyes. She was now boosted up with pillows, her little arms resting on the wood of the table as she swung her feet above the ground. Magnus set the cake down on the table. There were three candles, and Ro gaped into their light, entranced. 

“Do you remember what we do with candles?” Magnus edged around the table to kneel next to his daughter. 

She shook her head slowly, still encapsulated by the fire.

Smirking, Magnus lifted Ro up so she could more easily reach the cake, “we make a wish and then we blow them out. Are you ready?”

Ro nodded, glancing over at her father.

“Okay. What do you want to wish for?” Magnus rested his chin in her hair.

The little girl shut her eyes tightly, humming in thought. She didn’t open her eyes when she mumbled under her breath, “...I wanna punch the moon.”

Magnus let out a booming laugh. Who knew where this came from? He kissed her on the cheek. She itched the spot he kissed while he chuckled, “okay, kid. You do that.”

“Ready to blow out the candles?”

Ro nodded vigorously. 

“One… two… three…”

Before Magnus could act, Ro blew as hard as she could, spitting all over her Birthday cake. Miraculously, the candles went out. 

Ro made punching motions as she exclaimed, smiling wide, “I’m gonna punch the moon!”

* * *

The air was hot, and Magnus’ brain felt like it was about to explode as he sat up abruptly. He cringed, grabbing his head. Sitting up too fast made him dizzy, and a headache had quickly formed in his skull. There were black dots dancing in front of him as he opened his eyes, but he could make out four figures. One was large, one was small and stout, one was slight… He blinked, trying to clear his vision, and began to make out the shapes of Merle, Taako, and Killian, all staring at him apprehensively. The dwarf had his hand resting on Magnus’ knee, his expression oddly sympathetic… pitying? Taako’s eyes immediately darted away as he began to wring his hands, while Killian placed her head in her hands, muttering under her breath. 

All of the sudden, everything came rushing back.

Magnus jumped to his feet, causing for Taako to retrieve himself back towards the wall. It was painful, but his mind was too full of panic to process the pain. 

Killian was speaking to him, but he couldn’t comprehend her words. Suddenly there was a rope. Suddenly he was climbing. Suddenly, Magnus was staring out at a sea of black glass, staring out at where Phandalin once was. In the center of this pristine mess was a figure. The blackened figure of a dwarf, its right arm reaching skyward, wearing a silver gauntlet that glinted in the reflection of the sun, on its hand. 

He felt a hand touch his shoulder lightly, “Magnus, was it? I-I’m sorry.”

Magnus turned his head slowly and met eyes with Killian, “what?”

The orcish woman flinched at this, quickly withdrawing her hand from his shoulder.

“I- I don’t-” Magnus’ booming voice had transformed into something that was barely a whisper, “Ro? Roxanne? Where- babe?”

She spoke again, “I’m so sorry…”

“Julia?”

Magnus stood before the wreckage of The Hammer and Tongs, his arms hanging limply at his side. It was completely destroyed, blackened, blown up. The sign that once read the name of the family shop, his home, had cracked in half. One piece had been flung into the neighbor’s window. One of the Ms were missing. When he first stepped through that door frame, Magnus entered the best years of his life. That was when he saw her for the first time. Tall and athletic, graceful and strong, the most beautiful woman in the world: Julia. That was when he dropped his tools at the sight of her curly brown hair pulled into a ponytail with little strands hanging from the tie. At the sight of her hazel eyes. The sight of her thick eyebrows raised at him. This was where he learned to carpenter. Here, he learned how to love unadulteratedly. 

It was gone. 

Raven’s Roost was gone.

Julia was gone.

Now Phandalin and…

She couldn’t be gone too. 

Magnus’ knees hit the cold black glass as he collapsed, his arms laying limply at his sides. His weapons had been dropped. His hands were empty. He stared at them with wide, blank eyes. 

Water dropped onto the glass beneath him. Huh. He didn’t know it was raining.

It was only when Magnus reared his head back that he realized that the water was his tears.

Magnus screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh jeez guys!


	6. The Bureau: Lucretia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is grief depicted in this chapter so if you're sensitive to that this is your warning!

Apparently, Killian found potential applicants for the reclaimer position. Lucretia was hesitant at first, not trusting the fact that her employee had brought three random strangers onto her top secret moon base. Then she was informed that these three were somehow able to resist the thrall of the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet. Intriguing. 

The past months were the most interesting stretch of time that Lucretia had experienced in a long time. She had somehow been able to acquire a loyal team of trusted employees who would help her on her mission. With the help of the Miller’s and their incredible technology, the moon base was built beautifully, perfect for the group to live in. Thus, the Bureau of Balance was formed. The employees were hardworking, trustworthy… for the most part. It was heartbreaking to hear that Brian had gone astray, and even more so that they needed to get rid of him. They had become, not family, no, but friends. Lucretia hoped so at least. She hoped that she could be more than just a boss for these people. 

So Lucretia stood, staring up at Fisher in their tank, floating so gracefully. This creature could only be described as majestic, and she would never fully become accustomed to the Voidfish’s beauty. She listened as Killian described to her the mission she had just been on, these adventurers she encountered. Lucretia nodded, agreeing to meet these people. 

She waited in the throne room, lounging on her chair. Lucretia refused to call it a throne even though this word was most likely a better descriptor. Hell, she was in the  _ throne  _ room. The door creaked open and three very familiar figures stepped through, walking to stand before her. Lucretia’s breath caught in her throat, mentally scolding herself for being surprised because  _ of course _ . Of course they found their way here. 

They all looked different. Something was wrong. Merle somehow had become grizzlier in the ten years they were separated. His eyes were tired and… sad, as he eyed the other two. Lucretia bit her lip when she scanned over the other two. Taako’s hair had grown more, now in an even longer braid, and his face was skinnier, his cheek bones even more defined. He was obviously uncomfortable as he supported Magnus, whos knees were bent and shaking. The larger man didn’t even look up at her, and when Taako released him, he fell to the ground in a heap, staring at nothing. 

The world was frozen. Time seemed to stop as a sheet of ice spread over Lucretia’s mind. For a moment, she stood before the baby voidfish’s tank again. The journals shook in her hand that squeezed their spines much too tightly. She went to drop one into the iquor, her hand clenched, refusing to let go, but it fell anyways.

Lucretia blinked. 

And she was back in the white domed room, looking down upon the of the six other. Three, whose lives were taken away. And it was her fault.

Lucretia chose not to comment on Magnus’ despondent state, and instead, spread her arms wide, “welcome, the three of you, to the Bureau of Balance. It’s a pleasure to have you. I’ve heard a lot of great things about your performance from Killian. Before we go any further I’m going to need you to hand over the gauntlet so we can destroy it promptly.”

Silence. Nobody responded. The only noise made was the sound of Taako uncomfortably clearing his throat. Merle then stepped forward, speaking uncertainty,“we found it though. You see, that’s kind of the business we’re in. You know, we get stuff and then people pay us for it, so…”

“Yeah,” Taako blurted out. 

Lucretia smirked, “Oh, you will be paid. You will be paid very, very handsomely.”

She called for Davenport, asking for him to provide the three with their payment. He, of course, obliged. He scurried over to them, and while Merle and Taako hungrily grabbed their pouches, Magnus didn’t even move. The gnome began to nudge him with the bag, gently, and suddenly the man aggressively swiped his arm out in front of him to snatch the bag, nearly hitting Davenport. 

The room was silent. 

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t want to pry but,” Lucretia’s face scrunched into an expression of worry, “is everything okay? What…”

There was another pause as Taako and Merle exchanged a look. They both answered at the same time.

“All good, homie,” said Taako, gesturing towards himself.

“Not really,” Merle grimaced. 

Both heads swiveled to look at each other again, this time Merle was glaring. “No! Not at all!” he hissed.

Before Lucretia could ask what happened, a quiet voice interrupted her. 

Magnus spoke in the softest voice she had ever heard the boisterous man speak; it crackled with exhaustion. He didn’t look up even as he stated, “that- that gauntlet,” he spit the word as if it gave him physical pain, “took  _ everything _ away from me.”

Lucretia noticed that both Taako and Merle had significantly distanced themselves from their companion. 

She began to step down from her platform, slowly approaching Magnus as he spoke under his breath, still loud enough for everyone to hear, “it took… my family…” a drop of water fell onto the floor below him, “she’s gone. They’re both gone.”

Lucretia knelt down in front of her old friend, she reached out to grab his big calloused hands. As soon as their skin met, his eyes, red with tears, shot up to meet hers. 

“I’m so sorry, Magnus,” she whispered. 

“She was five.”

Lucretia sucked in a breath. This was his daughter. The girl she had saved those years ago, all for naught. Back in Raven’s Roost, she had seen the bombers, she had heard of Kalen’s plans through her close monitoring of her former crew. She had seen the Hammer and Tongs, where Magnus worked, and she saw Julia, his wife, and she saw a child. The child ran on stubby legs in the opposite direction of who Lucretia supposed was her mother.  She could see Magnus in every way this child existed. His red curly hair, his eyes, his smile… but she obviously took after her mother. Beautiful. Lucretia smiled, but only for a moment because she had to make a choice. 

Lucretia had snagged the little girl and exited the neighborhood as quick as possible.

She closed her eyes, “I-I’m so sorry. I understand that-”

“What do you understand?” the man snapped in an uncharacteristically sharp tone, “how could you understand my...” he trailed off.

“Believe me, Magnus,” Lucretia spoke softly, “I know loss. I’ve lost so much of my family and… loss, grief, is the most debilitating experience to ever occur. I know grief, Magnus. There’s a hole inside of you that can never be filled and I’m genuinely so sorry.”

She winced as Magnus recoiled his hand, removing it from her grasp. He scowled, reverting his eyes back to the floor, “just. Just stop, okay?”

Lucretia retrieved her hand slowly, swallowing tears that threatened to breach her eyes. 

So she returned back to her post, shaken, breathing quicker than she should be. She told them to collect themselves, asked which one of them was the smartest, bravest, and strongest. But it was all done in a haze, in that deep freeze. 

Magnus had barely collected himself. He wasn’t crying anymore, he wasn’t unresponsive, but he was angry. Scarily so. The muscles in his face were tensed so tightly that his usual friendly face was unrecognizable. His thick eyebrows lowered, blackening his already dark eyes. So when Lucretia asked him to defend that button in the three adventurers’ trial, he did so with an intensity that struck a chord of fear within her. 

She watched the man absolutely demolish the robots that advanced upon him. She watched him scream, beat the robots when it was not longer necessary. She watched him slowly rip the arms out of one of them, still roaring, his voice now cracking with wear. Even when they had won, he kicked at them, shouting profanities, tears began to drip down his cheeks. 

Finally, he dropped to the ground, onto his knees, staring down at the arm of a robot he held in his bruised hands. And he dipped his head, his shoulders shook with sobs.

Lucretia turned away so that nobody could see her tears. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how I feel about this chapter but.... whatever ya know? it's posted!


	7. The Cave: Roxanne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> possible content warning for night terrors, body horror, and surreal dreams

It was dark and yellow, but for all that Ro knew, she was safe. She didn’t know why or how, she just knew. Sometimes things could be simple like that. 

For some reason, she was very, very small. She could tell because her hands that clutched a soft yellow fabric were shrunken, stubby. That was not how her hands normally looked, but it didn’t matter at the time because it felt right. Somehow, this yellow that Ro was clutching onto was home. She was home, and she knew this, even though the only thing she had ever really called home was her daddy. 

There was a whisper in her ear, but she couldn’t understand it at all. It was just little hisses of breath and noises that sounded like words but weren’t. It wasn’t frustrating for some reason, but again, it didn’t matter. So she looked up, she wanted to see who was whispering and what they were saying. She was so so curious.

But what Ro saw was  _ wrong _ . 

There was a face that she thought she was supposed to recognize but it looked so very  _ wrong _ . The eyes were  _ too _ big and the hair was  _ too _ brown and the mouth kept opening and opening and opening until the jaw fell off. She tried to scream but she found that no sound came from her mouth. Her hand reached for her throat but before she could grasp at it, a sharp hand gripped it tightly, tightly, and it held her whole body until she was squeezed away. 

She didn’t know how she got there but suddenly Ro was standing on an endless sea of black glass. It was so quiet that something that sounded like the ocean pulsed in her ears. She walked forward, glancing around like there was something going to pop out at her and hurt her. She walked forever. She didn’t stop, and the glass didn’t stop either. 

Then, there was fire. Fire so bright that the girl needed to close her eyes so tightly, but they wouldn’t work. Her face wouldn’t work and nothing would work and everything was  _ wrong _ . And then there were people in the flames, screaming, yelling something awful. They were telling her to run away so she ran and ran but the fire followed her, licking at her feet. They were telling her to run, and chanting her name over and over and over and over-

Until something changed and she was sitting up. Breathing felt  _ wrong _ because it was way too fast and the world swirled around her eyes. Something red glowed in front of her and a voice came from somewhere but nothing made sense and she couldn’t make sense of the words it was too much it was too much-

And Ro felt something rush over her.

And fell asleep.

It felt like only a blink before she opened her eyes to the sound of some clanging. There was a moment where Ro forgot where she was. She was in an unfamiliar place that looked like it was just made of rock, and she was sitting on top of a springy mattress. Oh. Barry’s cave. She remembered then. 

Rubbing her eyes, Ro pushed herself up, looking around at everything around her. And there was a whole lot to look at. The mattress was squished up next to a very very cluttered desk that had a bunch of strange jars of red on it, also papers. As her vision cleared, Ro could make out the red spectral figure of Barry Bluejeans standing before the big tube with the body in it. The man had explained to her last night that the body was going to be his, and that it took a long time to grow. Ro acted like she understood when she was told this, but it still freaked her out. 

The rustling and squeaking of the girl’s movement must have gotten Red Barry’s attention because he turned around to look over at when Ro was. He started to float towards her pretty slowly, as if he was unsure of himself. Ro wondered if she should smile or say something.

“Well, uh,” Barry started, wringing his ghostly hands, “good morning.”

“Mornin’,” Ro mumbled, pushing herself onto the rocky ground. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, but the clothes she was wearing were the same as when she was in Phandalin. 

The red guy approached Ro and knelt down as if to look her in the face. Ro wondered if Barry knew he didn’t really have a face. But he did so anyways and spoke softly, “I’m sorry that you didn’t sleep well last night. I really- I really wish I could have done something for you but I uh, I can’t exactly hug you with this body, but I don’t even know if you want that…”

Ro scrunched her face in thought. Didn’t sleep well?

“Do you not remember?” 

She looked at her bare feet, then back up at where Barry’s face should be and shook her head. No.

“Oh jeez,” Barry chuckled, “you had some pretty bad dreams last night. I guess its good you don’t remember.”

Ro blinked, confused, as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Her braids were starting to become undone. She shuffled her feet, “daddy always sleeps with me when I have bad dreams. I also have Mr. Bear.”

Barry seemed to be taken aback. He froze a little bit, his ghost shoulders tightening, before he relaxed and asked hesitantly, “...Mr. Bear?”

“Yeah. Mr. Bear,” Ro played with the hem of her shirt, “Daddy says he’s been with me since I was born. He says that the people found it in our old home and that I’m lucky to have him. I take him everywhere but-” she swallowed a lump in her throat, “I guess… I guess he’s all burned.” 

“Oh, uh,” Barry reached out a hand, “I’m sorry about that… do you think we could get you a new teddy bear… possibly?”

Ro thought about it for a moment. Mr. Bear was very special. She mumbled, “I don’t know.”

“I think we can. I just gotta posses-” Barry broke off his word, “I just gotta take you to town. We could get you some toys and shit.” 

He swore. That was funny so Ro let out a weak giggle. She hugged her arms closer to her body. For some reason, Ro felt like she was going to cry. She didn’t know why because there was no reason to cry. Barry was nice even though he looked a little bit scary, and he said he wanted to get her back to her daddy. She wiped her eyes, which were a little bit damp, but tried to stand tall. 

It was time to close her eyes. It was time to stop and think and let things not be so overwhelming for just one moment. But it was hard because everything was so unfamiliar and just as she closed her eyes her tummy growled in hunger that Ro didn’t even realized existed. Even though she didn’t want it to happen, a little whimper came out of her mouth and tears began to fall quicker. 

Barry’s rough voice sounded, “Oh… oh jeez did I say something? I-I’m sorry buddy-”

“It’s okay,” Ro’s voice was very soft.

The lich man responded in an equally soft way, “do you wanna get some food? Some breakfast?”

She nodded. 

Barry waved his spectral hand and a big magic one appeared. It was the same one that Ro held the other day so she took it. 

“Okay,” Barry started, pronouncing his words very sharply, “I’m about to do something magical-”

Ro’s eyes widened in wonder, “magic?”

“Uh, yeah, um. We’re gonna go somewhere very fast. Maybe- maybe you should close your eyes?” he worded the statement like a question.

Narrowing her eyes, Ro receded a little bit, loosening her grip on the mage hand.

“I swear you’ll be okay. It’s not gonna hurt you or anything,” he paused, “I wouldn’t do that.”

Ro thought for a moment before shrugging, tightening her grip once again. What happened next was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Barry told her he was about to do it. She didn’t know what  _ it _ was until the sounds of water dripping onto rock became people talking and shouting like they do in a city. She heard Barry tell her to open her eyes, so she did.

And she found that she was  _ actually _ in a city. A gasp sounded through the narrow alleyway as Ro peered through Barry’s see-through form at a street, where people of all sorts were bustling around. She quickly let go of the lich’s magic hand and started towards the people, only to find that she’d been pulled back. Ro let out a little yelp, grasping at the mage hand that gripped the collar of her shirt. 

Barry sighed from behind her, “wait a sec, kid. Look at me.”

He sounded very serious so Ro turned around to hear what Barry had to say.

His voice was very slow and careful, “Ro, I need for you to wait right here. I’ll be back soo- I’ll come back for you in about five minutes, okay? I’m going to look different, but it’ll still be me.”

Ro nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes. This was confusing. 

Barry seemed to notice her confusion because he continued talking, “hey, you know what? I have an idea. My parents did this for me when I was little. When I come back, I’m going to say ‘fantasy ducktales’, okay? That’s how you’ll know it’s me.”

Even more confused now, Ro nodded, “...okay.”

All of the sudden, red Barry vanished, which surprised Ro, but made sense considering he had taken her from a cave to a city in a moment. So, while she waited Ro traced the bricks on the side of the alley. There was paint on it and it was probably supposed to be words, but she couldn’t read. Then she took her hands out and pretended to swing an axe around like Daddy, making wooshing noises with her mouth. 

Then, a man walked into the alley and Ro held out her invisible axe towards him. He looked partially elven, tall, with dark skin and long curly hair. But when he smiled and said, “fantasy Ducktales,” Ro knew it was Barry.

She squealed his name and ran over to him. He grabbed her hand, not even needing to use magic to do so, and led her out into the street. 

It was very busy, and the two of them had to walk pretty slowly to navigate the crowd. Some people yelled about things they could buy, but Ro knew from Daddy to never answer because they were “rip-offs”. Cities were very interesting and cool because there were so many people to watch, but at the same time, they could be overwhelming for the same reason. Ro was glad that she had half-elf Barry’s hand to hold onto. That way, she could focus on his hand only and she had someone leading her, telling her what she had to do. 

They went into a clothing store and bought nice clothes for Ro. There was a good yellow dress that she liked very much and a pair of overalls with flowers on them and some bows. It was nice.

Then they went into a toy store and got some cool toys. There was a little axe that Ro was  _ so  _ excited to get because it was just like her daddy’s and there were lots of stuffed bears. None of them were like Mr. Bear, but they eventually found one that was fine enough for her. 

There was a market with lots of food. Barry and her got some Fantasy Cheerios, and Fantasy Froot Loops, and lots of good foods. 

They were in line to get the foods and Ro stood right behind half-elf Barry because he told her to always stay close to him. He was busy buying the food so Ro occupied herself by swinging her new toy axe around. 

Then, Ro jumped. Something tapped her on the shoulder. 

She turned around and saw a  _ very _ pretty man kneeling down in front of her. He had very dark skin and long dreaded hair with little gold pieces in them. Ro was entranced by his eyes because they were unlike anything she had ever seen: his eyes were  _ red _ . He spoke to her softly, whispering like he was telling a secret.

“Do you know this man?” he whispered, gesturing towards Barry.


	8. Running Errands: Barry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh gosh

Barry didn’t know how to take care of a fucking child. He especially didn’t know how to take care of a five year old kid when he was incorporeal and being actively pursued by the grim reaper. He hadn’t had an encounter with the guy yet, but it had only been a day, so it was bound to happen soon. It happened every time he died. Makes sense. 

While he lived (lived?) as a incorporeal lich, this kid needed actual taking care of. Physical food, sleep, care, that was quite difficult for Barry to provide. Bringing her to his cave was one hell of an experience. He could only bring her with him if he conjured a mage hand and she was crying and Barry didn’t know how to deal with that kind of thing. The prospect of trying to get this child back with her father, while the guy was on the moon, the place that Lucretia was desperately trying to keep him away from, was stressful as all hell. He spent the whole first night trying to conceive some kind of plan. Roxanne was… well she was five. She needed her dad. 

He still couldn’t believe that Magnus was a dad. It made sense after a bit of thought; he was always an extra caring guy, and he seemed to love his kid, as a father should. But he still thought of Magnus as that twenty year old kid with a reckless spirit. Barry wondered what happened to the kid’s mother. 

When Roxanne had woken up in the dead of night, screaming something about fire and colors, Barry  _ extra _ didn’t know what to do. She was hysterical, and Barry wished (oh Gods he wished) that he could scoop her up and hug her. But he couldn’t even touch anything. Oddly, Barry cared about this girl. He had only met her a day before, but this was Magnus’ kid. She looked like him too, only a little bit. It was obvious that she more resembled whoever her mother was, but still, she acted like Magnus. There were expressions she made that were  _ so _ Magnus. And Barry missed his brother. 

He had an obligation to protect her. She was shaken up, obviously so, from the incident in Phandalin. Hell, she was five. She shouldn’t have ever seen something like that.

Barry ended up just casting sleep on the kid. 

And now, here they were, actually touching, in line to buy the kid some cereal. It was always nice to have some form of a body, even if he was simply possessing the poor guy. It was also less nerve racking to know that he could keep physical track of Ro. She told him she liked to be called Ro. He bought her an axe so that she could be “just like daddy”, which made Barry chuckle as she fought against invisible foes. She would occasionally whack him in the back, not hard enough to hurt, but definitely enough to be annoying. Barry wouldn’t say anything though. The kid needed a break. 

Ro wasn’t holding his hand at the moment, but he trusted that she was near him. Barry heard her making little noises as she played behind him. Barry wondered if he should try to stay in this body for longer, even if it was somebody else’s.

“Who the  _ heck  _ are  _ you _ ?” Little Ro’s lispy voice sounded from behind Barry, sounding a little more confrontational than what was comfortable.

Curious, Barry turned around and reached to hold the girl. His hand reached her shoulder, but first, he met eyes with a familiar face.

Shit.

There he was, squatting down in front of Ro, handsome as ever, menacing as ever. It seemed he was trying to be less menacing in front of the girl, but he wasn’t succeeding, not with those bright red eyes and the black getup. 

Should he play dumb? Does he already know? Probably.

Barry grasped Ro’s shoulder and guided her behind him. Nobody around them seemed to be paying attention.

“Can I- can I help you?” Barry cringed internally at his awkwardness. 

The reaper smiled in an annoyingly charming way. Standing up to his full height, which was still tall even though Barry had chosen a fairly tall body. He was smiling, obviously, showing off those pearly whites, but his eyes showed otherwise. He was staring daggers at Barry, staring right into his lich soul.

He reached his hand out as if to shake Barry’s, “I believe we have some business to attend to, don’t we?”

Barry glanced down at the hand, then back up at the reaper’s face. He did not shake his hand, “I’m sorry. I don’t think we’ve uh met? Before? You probably have the wrong person.”

He could feel Ro trying to remove her little hand from Barry’s grasp as she peeked out from behind him. Barry squeezed her hand, hopefully reassuringly. 

It was obvious that the man wasn’t fooled. His smile dissipated, “this would be much easier if you came with me.”

Ro pushed herself up against Barry’s legs. A tiny gasp sounded from behind him. The girl was obviously intimidated. Barry couldn’t blame her; he was intimidated too. He gestured towards Ro, feigning exasperation, “Look there’s a kid-”

“Another reason for you to just come with me.”

Barry bit his lip, thinking for a moment. He sighed, dropped the groceries slowly besides him, and nodded. He was going to follow this guy and he was  _ not _ going to leave Magnus’ kid alone again. 

The reaper nodded, smirking, and started towards the exit, with his eyes trailed on Barry. Ro protested as Barry began forwards, pointing at the food. 

Barry didn’t say anything, but the little girl persisted, “Barry! The food! We need- we can’t!”

The dark man ahead of them glanced down at Ro with an expression that appeared to be concern. Barry stared back, steady. It was almost offensive that the reaper seemed to think that he would hurt the little girl. 

Barry didn’t avert his gaze, but spoke firmly towards Ro, “the food will have to wait.”

A pang of frustration flashed through his chest. They were just out minding their own business when death had to come knocking. Couldn’t he have left them to get their shit? Couldn’t he have let him feed this small child? Apparently not. 

The three weaved through the crowds again, towards another alleyway. Here, there was a rusty metal gate, with a lock that appeared to be busted in with some sort of force. Hopefully there was nobody there. Maybe it was just Death who broke the lock. Stupid. Not really, actually. Barry was terrified of this guy. He was doing his best to hold himself together. For the kid. But the reaper was tall and scarily charming in such an intimidating way, not to mention he could send Barry to the so-called Eternal Stockade with a swing of his scythe.

Death pushed open the gate, revealing a dirty alleyway, littered with trash and rubble. He gestured towards the pathway as if to invite Barry and Ro into his home. His friendly demeanor had disappeared almost completely. Barry clutched Ro, moving her gently in front of him as he stepped into the alley. He noticed how stiff the kid’s shoulders were as she slapped her smaller hand onto his, clutching at his fingers. She was glaring at the Reaper, feigning toughness. It was hard for a cute little girl to appear tough, but Barry could appreciate her effort. Someday she would master it, someday she’d probably be able to perfectly replicate Magnus, as it seemed she tried to do with every action she made. 

The rusty gate clanged shut behind them. Ro scrambled behind Barry’s legs, letting out a small squeak at the loud noise. The pair stared up at the Grim Reaper, trailing their eyes on him as he kneeled down, as if to match little Ro’s height. 

He spoke softly, smiling, but not completely confidently, “hello there, uh, little lady,” Barry could’ve sworn that this guy had a Cockney accent. It had seemingly disappeared, “My name is Kravitz and I was wondering- I’m here to save you, okay?”

Barry glanced behind him at Ro, who was squinting suspiciously at “Kravitz”, which was apparently Death’s name. She grabbed at Barry’s pants leg, “no,” she answered very quietly. 

Kravitz’s face crumpled into disorientation, but he quickly corrected his countenance once again into a smile, “it’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you, um… do you know about who this man is? Because-”

The little girl interrupted him with a grimace, “this is Barry.”

Barry smirked at Ro’s stubbornness. He started, “look, Kravitz, Death, whatever you are, this kid- I’ve gotta look after her. Can you just uh, leave me alone,” Barry cringed, “for once? Please?” 

Death, Kravitz, glared into Barry’s eyes, “you know I can’t do that,” he stood up, dusting off his legs. The Cockney accent reappeared, “look, Barry? I’ve been following you around for, oh, I don’t know, ten years? Twelve years? I  _ don’t _ know how you’ve,” he waved his hands around, exasperated, “ _ somehow _ escaped me  _ every fucking- _ ,” he hissed, glancing down at the kid, who was glaring daggers at him, “every…  _ darn _ time. But I’m tired. Just- fucking- come with me?” 

Ro had stiffened more yet at Kravitz’s apparent anger. She looked up at Barry, eyes wide. Barry rubbed his thumb in circles around the girl’s hand. 

Barry took a step back, “hey, I’m sorry, but I’ve got some real important shit to do. And now I have to take care of this kid-”

Kravitz stepped forward his perfect eyebrows furrowed, “ _ how _ did you even come in contact with a  _ child _ ? What is a  _ lich _ doing with a  _ little girl _ ? What are you doing with her?”

“Babysitting! I guess!”

“Who would let a lich babysit their kid?”

“Well it wasn’t on purpose!”

“ _ How- _ ”

Ro spoke up, shouting as strongly as her little voice could, “what’s going on? Who are you?” she pointed angrily at Kravitz, “why are did you bring us here? I’m hungry!”

Barry gestured down at Ro, “she’s hungry!”

Kravitz rolled his eyes, smashing his hand into his forehead, “I don’t- I have to do this. I’m sorry,” he looked at Ro questioningly, “what’s your name, darling?”

“None of your business! Don’t call me that!”

There was a silence, only for a moment, then suddenly, a ripple washed over Kravitz’s body, and he had transformed into a skeleton, his eye sockets filled with the same red eyes. A silver scythe appeared in his skeletal hands, and he held it out before himself menacingly. 

Barry heard Ro gasp from behind him. Shit. This was bad. 

“Ro,” Barry said sternly, “you have to run.”

The kid didn’t answer, just held faster to Barry’s hand. 

“Please, Ro.”

Fear flashed through Barry’s chest when the little girl dislodged her small hand from his grasp and ran in between the two men. She stood fast, glancing between the two, unmenacing with her yellow bows and cute braids. Her hand was visibly shaking as she lifted it up to point up at Kravitz.

She shouted, her lisp more prominent than ever, “go away! Skeleton man! P-please don’t fight!”

The two men moved at the same time, both reaching out towards Ro, but Kravitz had the advantage. The skeleton grasped the child’s wrist firmly, jerking her away from Barry, trying to wrestle her behind him. Ro barely reacted; her eyes widened in fear, staring at nothing as her body went rigid, allowing for Kravitz to simply whisk her away from Barry’s reach. As the reaper did so, he strode towards Barry, swinging the scythe with malice. 

“What the-” Barry stumbled backwards, “don’t you dare!”

Suddenly, he was out of the half-elf man’s body, and it fell to the cobbled ground in a head, and Barry lifted up, phantasmal and angry. Energy sparked from his lich form, bouncing off of the brick walls of the alley. A bolt of lightning flashed out towards Kravitz, but he easily dodged it. Barry’s heart froze when the bolt barely missed hitting Ro. She scrambled towards the wall, obviously terrified. 

Kravitz was impossibly fast; he zoomed at Barry, wildly slashing at him with his deadly weapon. Barry instead ducked under and attempted to snap the scythe with a blade barrier, but the spell simply passed through it’s blade, unharming. He could hear a scream, a high pitched, pained scream, but he couldn’t pay attention to that. Barry was about to have his ass handed to him. A wall of energy forced Barry’s form against a brick wall, and somehow, it  _ hurt _ . Nothing hurt when in lich form; it wasn’t supposed to when you don’t have a body. But this hurt. And for a moment, Barry couldn’t speak, he couldn’t even think as he shrieked, necromantic energy emitting from his form. 

Kravitz was advancing. Quickly. The scythe loomed over Barry, about to drop down onto him. 

Out of the corner of his eye, something yellow flashed by and collided into Kravitz’s form.

Ro was smashed into Kravitz, hysterical, her brown skin turned red in dismay. Her cheeks were wet with tears as her small fists hit at Kravitz’s skeletal form. She was screaming, barely decipherable as her voice cracked, “ _ NO! NO MORE! NO MORE! NO MORE PLEASE NO MORE!”  _

Barry broke free as Kravitz was briefly distracted. The reaper had grabbed the collar of Ro’s shirt, his skull somehow revealing disconcertion, “wha-”

Somebody had opened the gate and was rushing towards the scene, shouting. Barry had to act fast. 

He conjured an especially large mage hand and scooped up Magnus’ little girl as gently as possible, but his main goal was to get her away from here. He could hear Kravitz let out a sound of indignation as Ro was snatched away from his form, and scooped towards Barry. 

He flew away as quick as possible, lifting the girl out and away from the scene. He could hear her crying, screaming, kicking and struggling. Then, he concentrated hard.

And they were back in the cave. 

The small girl’s wails echoed off of the rocky walls of Barry’s shelter.

“ _ I WANT TO GO HOME I WANT MY DADDY I WANT TO GO HOME…” _

If Barry could’ve cried, he would cry along with her. If Barry could’ve held her, he would have held her as close as he could. But as he tried to reach her physically, somehow comfort her, his limbs only flashed through her. It was frustrating; Ro’s voice was weakening in wear as she was in obvious distress. This never should have happened. How could he have let this happen to her? How could he let her feel like this?

He began destabilizing. Barry grasped at himself, regulating his emotions. 

He decided that he needed his body as soon as possible.

Ro had quieted. She sat on the rocky floor, staring ahead. Her big brown eyes shifted to look at Barry, “I just-” her voice had eroded along with her emotional outbreak, “I don’t wanna be alone. I don’t-” a sob wracked her small form, “I don’t want you to leave me too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know how to write action? help? I hope y'all are enjoying this!


	9. The Following Days: Magnus

Something in Magnus broke the day Phandalin was destroyed. Something snapped. 

Losing Julia was something he could take, just barely, because he had something to live for: Roxanne, his daughter. 

Now, there was nothing. 

Grief was staying up, night after night, refusing to sleep because he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve to indulge in the privileges of life that his wife and child could no longer experience. Life, now, was staring blankly at the world as it moved too quickly. As it moved on from the day Magnus’ life was taken away. It was unfair. Time should have stopped. The world should have halted along with the hearts of his loved ones.  

Grief was being unable to avert Magnus’ thoughts from his loss. Grief was the natural process of transitioning from  _ I can’t believe she’s gone _ to  _ It’s my fault she’s gone _ to, finally,  _ I killed my daughter _ . 

He killed his daughter. 

That’s the conclusion that Magnus came to.

Grief, occasionally, was breaking from the everyday routine to punch the walls over and over and over and over again. It was ignoring his surroundings as he did so, ignoring the concerned shouts that attempted to stop him, not noticing that his hands were now bloody, ruined by the continuous impact. It was not realizing how loud he was screaming, or not noticing the tears streaming down his face. 

Grief was sitting in the Director’s office as she spoke to you softly, but not processing a word she said. 

It was unbearable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short chapter, but written from the heart. I've been busy with work and college apps, but will definitely update this more once that's over with.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope ya'll like it! 
> 
> I welcome critiques!!!!


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